On Dark Territory
by Shadow Padawan
Summary: A knight is sent with her padawan to retrieve a Sith artifact from an ancient Sith fortress. This seemingly simple mission brings back painful memories for the young knight...Please R&R!
1. Part One

The moist hot air hit her nostrils from the moment that the hatch hissed open. The air was thick with scents of Bogoli flowers and Avi trees. The sweetness of the hot, moist air almost made her choke. She jumped out of the cockpit and landed on the soft sluggish grass that covered the woodland area.

Aly Baveric gazed dazedly out at the thick underbrush and tall trees that created a wall in front of her and around the whole clearing in which she had landed the Jedi star fighter. The sounds of singing birds came to her ears. An insistent squawking could be heard from somewhere in the distance. The sun was setting, piercing the foliage with its bleeding rays. Aly shut her eyes tightly, forcing herself not to think. Willing herself not to dwell on the memories that rushed at her, plunging their spears into her heart, reopening the wounds that she had ignored for several years now.

"Bay'me'wi! We better go before it gets dark!" she called.

An eager thirteen year old girl stuck her head out of the 'fighter and pushed her shinny, long bangs out of her alert green eyes. "Yes, Master. I'm coming." Moments later she was at Aly's side and they started moving toward the thick underbrush.

They spent the trip in silence, concentrating on hacking a path through the flora that imprisoned them on all sides. By the time they started their hike up Shighak Hill the sun had almost set, its blood red rim barely visible over the horizon. The abandoned fortress came into view with blunt distinction, towering over them, sharp edges perturbing like spears of darkness leaving shadowy corners and insets in the walls. The engravings carved intricately on the structure whispered their ancient evil. The Sith code was written in a language that wasn't spoken anymore, used only by their kind.

As they got closer the darkness became more repressive. A sickeningly familiar feeling to Aly.

"Master?"

Aly didn't reply, only looked to her side.

"It's suddenly so cold…"

Aly nodded. The place was eerie and the Force was dark and cold here. "So it is, Padawan."

"Why have we been sent here, again, Master?"

"To get the Sith artifact that was left here and bring it to the temple" Aly answered glumly. She wasn't at all pleased with the council. By all rights her padawan was too young for this. They were sending her as a test; however, they did not trust her enough to send her alone. It was pathetically ridiculous! And yet, she admitted grudgingly, just.

They were finally standing before the sealed entrance. Bay' reached for her 'saber, intentioned on cutting through the rugged stone. Aly stopped her with a silent gesture. The young knight held up her hand, wrist perpendicular to the ground and sent a current of the Force at the crack visible between the door panels. There was a steady grating sound and finally the panels slid back.

Aly walked forward with Bay' trailing behind her in an awed silence. They walked several meters into the front hall….

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….and the door panels slid shut behind them.

Aly's hand went automatically to play with her braid. A nervous gesture that she had been practicing for as long as she could remember.

Knight Oke Ocoidum fished out a glow rod out of her bag and lit it. Aly quickly followed her master's lead. The crisp light of the glow rods threw ominous shadows onto the walls where ancient torches leaned idly against cool stone.

Aly looked around at the display of shockingly graphic engravings of decapitation displayed on all sides. Aly felt the bitter taste of bile in her mouth. Nausea nagged at her from the pit of her stomach.

Ocoidum must have sensed her padawan's discomfort because she said calmly, "don't look if they terrify you so, Padawan. Let's go. We have to move quickly."

They moved like ghosts through dark hallways, narrow and claustrophobic, until they reached a long winding staircase that would lead them to the top of the fortress' single tower. Aly followed her master to the top chamber from which the Force signal was radiating like a black light. The pyramid would be there.

They were almost at the top landing when Ocoidum raised her hand and sopped so abruptly that Aly nearly ran into her. The padawan was about to ask why they had stopped but shut her mouth as soon as she felt it; a dark, menacing wave that came crashing toward them. The temperature dropped suddenly so that Aly shivered involuntarily. She watched her master's hand drift to her 'saber as she deactivated her glow rod. Aly did the same, reaching out cautiously to the currents of the Force that were now boiling with power and sparking with the dark energy radiating from only a landing above them. But that wasn't all. Now that she looked deeper, as terrifying as it was, se felt another presents. This one was timid and innocent, yet scared and resentful at the same time. More darkness.

"They're here, Master" Aly whispered vehemently. If she was even two years younger she would have been tugging at her master's tunic as a plea to leave. She was a Jedi, though. A eighteen year old Senior Padawan. She had faced more deadly situations. Hadn't she?

"Yes," Ocoidum replied gravely. "And the Sith has a child with him as well."


	2. Part Two

_A/N: Thank you for your review _**_skywalker05_**_. I was hoping that the time change wouldn't be too confusing. But the technique I used semed better then putting "FLASH BACK" as a usually do b/c I wanted a more fluent change. Anyway I hope you like this next chapter. There will be one more post after this..._

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Aly's mouth went dry. All of a sudden their mission wasn't simple anymore. And their next couple of moves would be critical. "What do we do, Maser?" 

"Hush! Let's see how close we can get and what we can find out before we make judgments."

The master and padawan moved closer silently, using the Force to stifle their footsteps and shield their presences in the Force. The pair pressed themselves against the stone wall outside of the tower chamber. Dim-orange fire light, most likely from the torches, emanated from the room. Soft sounds of hissing, shuffling, heavy booted footfalls, and stifled sobbing and sniffling floated to their ears.

_It won't be long until he discovers that we are here,_ Ocoidum sent her padawan through the bond. _We will have to act soon. Be ready._

_Yes, Master,_ Aly replied, every muscle in her body tensing until she wall as tight as a bow string ready to release an arrow.

Suddenly the tense silence was filled with an ominous voice that echoed off the walls of the chamber and floated out into the hall to the two knights. "Now you will experience the full measure of the dark side."

There was a whimper and then the sound of a case opening. Ocoidum edged closer to the entrance so that she could catch momentary glimpses of what was happening. The Sith, wrapped in a black cloak, stood in the center of the chamber which was lit by three torches. A transparansteel case stood before him, raised on a golden pole. In the case rested a black pyramid. It projected its darkness around the chamber, drawing in all light like some immortal black hole.

The Sith lifted the pyramid reverently from its hold and slid a hand over its slick surface. The Force surged darkly, the pyramid responding to the Sith's will, welcoming the master of the darkness. The pyramid started to shift, the front of it, which was facing the huddle bundle in a shadowy corner, started to fold back into itself and a brilliant red light exploded from its depths.

Aly started to hear voices, hissing and whispering in the Force, beckoning her to come closer. The hissing Sith tongue resonated in her mind, seductive and frightening. _Master, what is happening? _Aly sent through the bond, pleading for a reassuring answer. The padawan clung to the light, wrapping it around her as she steeled her shields. There was no response from her master for a long time until finally their bond came to life again.

_Stay behind me, Padawan. Understand? And do exactly what I tell you. _

Aly could tell how deadly serious her master was and she was too unnerved to go further into detail about what she was or was not in agreement with. _Yes, Master. _

Ocoidum stepped into the chamber with cool confidence, Aly following behind her, staying in the shadow that her master's body provided.

When Ocoidum spoke Aly felt herself go numb with shock. She had never known that her master was versed in the Sith idiom.

"Acacha hasuffa! Shalua tissii. Avaya ve tecuppa."

The Sith turned around slowly. He eyed the Jedi in front of him. First looking over the master and then glaring through her at the apprentice. Aly couldn't see his face because of the hood, only his yellow eyes glowed from its darkness like fiery windows to hell, but she had a sick feeling that he was smiling. Smiling a horrible, twisted, sadistic smile, the thought of which made Aly cringe inwardly.

"Noh hushsha fussa" came the Sith's reply.

"So be it then" Ocoidum declared sweeping out her lightsaber. Aly moved to her masters side instinctively, her own 'saber activated in her sweating hand. If they were to fight the Sith they would fight together.

_I'm afraid I'm not the one you must protect at the moment,_ Ocoidum's voice came into her mind through the bond.

Aly was momentarily confused. Then her gaze fell to the huddled figure in the corner. She was met by a pair of startlingly bright green eyes. The eyes of a young child.

Aly edged to the side toward the small girl, keeping a death grip on her lightsaber all the while. She watched anxiously as her master glided toward the Sith as Aly circled around to the motionless form of the child. They stopped simultaneously, waiting for the Sith's next move. Aly could feel the angry pulses of dark energy in the Force swirl around her. The Sith dropped his cloak to reveal a heavily tattooed Zabrak male. The Sith's 'saber was in his hand before Aly even registered that he had made a movement. The blood red blade extended itself from the black cylinder. Then the Sith held the weapon horizontally in front of himself and a second blade hissed out from the other end of the hilt.

Aly tried to pull in the force to calm herself but the darkness was so revoltingly oppressive that it was hard to find the light, that she so desperately needed, in its inky depths. The Jedi dropped their robes and prepared for battle. Aly took the Form VI, Niman, ready stance as Ocoidum adopted the Form VII, Vaapad, ready position. The Sith waited for them to advance.

Ocoidum took the offensive, striking ferociously at the Zabrak. The Sith blocked her stroke skillfully striking back with equal force, locking their blades. Aly lunged forward to join in the duel, making sure to keep herself between the Sith and the still whimpering child. The Sith blocked her on-coming blade as well and pushed her back with an expected amount of force so that the padawan stumbled back several steps before regaining her footing.

Drawing in a deep breath Aly took a running jump and twisting in mid air offered a clean sweep at the Zabrak's head. She was promptly blocked.

The Sith lead the two Jedi away from the chamber, allowing them to push him back through a dark hall and onto an outside balcony. Aly tried to get around the predator, however, the double bladed lightsaber flashed so quickly and accurately, blocking all her paths and moves, that that maneuver seemed impossible to accomplish.

They fought their way onto the balcony, pushing the Sith back toward the railing. All of a sudden the Dark Lord seemed to decide that he did not wish to waist anymore time and the two Jedi could not push him back any longer and were forced to block an onslaught of slashes and strikes.

The Sith leaped onto the railing and twirled his double bladed weapon in a protective wall in front of him. The Jedi separated and jumped onto the railing on ether side of the Sith. The Zabrak leaped high into the air, propelled by the Force, and landed atop the slightly cone-shaped roof of the tower.

The two Jedi shared an anxious glance, he stood higher now then them. It would be a dangerous move, yet, they had no other choice.

Using the Force the master and padawan propelled themselves to the rooftop right in front of the Sith Lord. No sooner had their feet hit solid ground as the assault of attacks resumed once more from both sides. They were walking a thin line now, Aly knew. One wrong step could mean a fall of hundreds of meters to the unforgiving ground below.

The battle couldn't have lasted mare then fifteen minutes but to Aly it seemed like hours and at the same time less then seconds. The time drug on for an eternity to the point that it didn't exist. Painfully slow and at the same time maddeningly fast.

Just as the rush of adrenaline started to take the toll on her body Aly noticed it. An opening, a rudimentary mistake from the Sith. She knew, though she wasn't exactly sure how, that her master had seen the opening too. Yet, Aly was determined to take it for herself. Then her master would see what a great padawan she was. If she killed this demon her master would finally see that she was as worthy of a padawan as her padawan-sister, Jan Lin. Her master would finally be proud of her.

Aly zeroed in on the opening and time slowed for a moment as the padawan swung her blade in a moment of ambitious pride, blind to everything else around her. The shock came when she felt the impact of 'saber against 'saber and the other blade wasn't red but blue.

If she had looked up she would have seen the Sith grinning his sadistic, homicidal grin.

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_A/N: All commentsare warmlywelcomed!_


	3. Part Three

The next few moments were a blur. An incredibly vivid blur. The Jedi unlocked their blades. Aly fought panic and swung her lightsaber at the Zabrak. But he had already sidestepped to the left, attacking Ocoidum first as the greater threat. In a terrifying moment she saw the Sith swing his 'saber at her master in a deadly swipe, knocking her off balance and then kicking her in the stomach with such force that she was flung several feet off the roof, dooming her to a several-hundred feet plunge to the ground.

It couldn't have taken more then a couple of seconds, but, Aly saw it in slow motion. She was paralyzed with shock and fear. The Sith, however, was not thinking in slowed time and Aly barely had time to duck the crimson blade that was hurled at her head. She was still in shock and her concentration was weak, so the erratic movement caused her to waver in her balance and drop to the surface below her feat. Her lightsaber slipped out of her grip and crashed on the balcony below with a metallic clatter. Aly allowed herself to fall and then, without thinking, steadied herself with her now free hand and swung her legs in a Ground Round Kick, swiping the Sith's legs from underneath him. Before she slid down the roof the padawan had a chance to Force shove the Sith before he was able to regain his footing.

Aly fell to the balcony, using the Force to cushion her fall, and watched as the Sith grabbed a momentary hold of the railing and then fell the rest of the way to the ground. Aly scampered to her feet and darted to the railing, only to see the Dark Lord land roughly, but safely, not too far from the form of her master who seemed to be struggling fruitlessly to move off the ground.

Hesitantly, Aly opened the bond and reached out to Ocoidum. Pain filtered through the older Jedi's tight shields. There was another emotion there, one that Ally had never felt from her master: fear.

A paralyzing feeling of dread spread over her as she watched helplessly the Sith start to stock toward Ocoidum. The red blade flashed, followed by a muffled yelp of pain, and Aly felt the bond snap and break, causing her head to spin crazily as nausea inched its way up to her throat until she could taste bile in the back of her mouth.

As the Sith lifted his ugly head to peer at her with his haunting yellow eyes, Aly's Jedi training was fighting a desperate battle against her personal feelings. Aly Baveric, Jedi Knight in training, knew that she had to run. Grab the child that was no doubt still huddled up in the dark corner where they had left her, and hide. Hide until she could figure out an escape rout and then get away from this dreadful place. This cursed planet. But Aly Baveric, padawan and friend to Oke Ocoidum, wanted nothing more then to get down to the ground and avenge her master's death. She would fight him until one of them was killed. All of her instincts screamed at her, pulling her right and left until she could do nothing but stare at the Sith. Surely he would come after him now. However, he never did.

Aly could have sworn then, or maybe it was just delirium from her emotional overload, that the Sith's voice said in her head, _You win this time, Jedi. But soon enough we will return to take what is ours. There will be another. _

Another what, Aly didn't know. At the moment, though, she didn't care. For a moment all that mattered was that the Sith strolled over to an area thickly covered with underbrush, protracted a slick, black speeder bike, and zoomed off in an unidentified direction.

The world came back into focus slowly, as Aly's vision still swam from the impact that the snapping of the bond had caused. The padawan reached for the familiar comfort of the training bond. A training bond that was no longer there.

Aly sank against the cold wall of the tower, guilt, grief, shock, and tiredness crashing into her body like a merciless title wave. She drew her knees in, hugging them tightly, and dropped her head into her arms as ragged sobs wrecked her body.

It was a hellish nightmare, simply not possible. Her master couldn't be dead. She simply couldn't. It was impossible! She shut her eyes tightly and bit into her lip until it bled. The adrenaline of the fight was gone and she didn't have any strength to gather herself together.

_There is no death there is the Force. _

That all too familiar line of the Jedi Code did nothing to sooth her. If only she hadn't tried to take that opening and let her master handle the situation. If only her foolish pride hadn't gotten in the way. Now she knew why her master liked Jan Lin better then her. Why she was prouder of Jan. Jan was the kind of padawan and Jedi knight that her master wanted. Aly had often wondered why in the Force had her master chosen her, especially after such a padawan as Jan. She was obviously not good enough. Not worthy of being Ocoidum's padawan. And tonight her actions had spoken for themselves. She had failed. As a padawan, as a Jedi, and as a friend.

Aly wasn't sure how long she had stayed there. Time ceased to exist. What brought her back to the galaxy was a low shuffling sound from the entrance to the balcony which drew steadily closer. She looked up sharply only to find a girl no older then five staring at her with great green eyes.

"Where's 'd bad man?" the child questioned timidly, stuttering slightly.

"He's g-gone," Aly replied, sniffling.

"Gone?" the girl asked hopefully.

Aly nodded and stood, ignoring the dizziness she was subjected to due to the sudden change of altitude.

"You gonna leave me here?" Aly could feel the panic rising in the girl. She also felt the way the Force surged around her. The Force was strong with this one. She would try to get permission from the Council to let the girl train with the Jedi. If for no other reason then for the simple fact that if the Sith wanted her then she would be better kept away from them. "No," Aly replied softly. "I'm going to get you off this hell of a planet. What's your name?"

"Bay'me'wi."

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Aly tore her gaze away from the pyramid which stood in the transparensteel case as though it had never been touched, awaiting its time to release its awesome darkness, and looked over at her padawan who was studying an intricate engraving in one of the walls of the tower chamber. "Bay'?" Aly called gently.

Bay'me'wi looked up slightly surprised. Her master never called her by her nickname. "My padawan" was the established endearing term between them. "Yes, Master?"

'Do…Do you remember this place?"

The girl's eyes darkened and she looked away briefly. Then she nodded. "It's the darkness of this place. I don't remember much detail."

Aly almost laughed. She remembered every detail of that night, though she desperately wished that that part of her life could be erased from her memory.

Bay' chewed lightly on her bottom lip before asking cautiously, "this is where your master died isn't it?"

Aly nodded. "I was the Jedi padawan who brought you to the temple." The knight protracted a Force dampening cube capsule from the folds of her cloak and activating her lightsaber destroyed the transparensteel lid with one clean stroke. Using the Force she lifted the pyramid from where it stood and guided it into the capsule. The lid closed over it with a soft _hiss snap. _

Bay', who had been watching attentively, spoke then. "Do you miss her?"

"Every day," came the simple reply.

Bay' walked over to Aly's side in an attempt to comfort her. "There is no death, there is the Force."

"You are right, Padawan." Aly looked down at the girl at her side and a realization hit her.

After she had come back from that fateful mission Aly had considered leaving the Order, yet, once the first bouts of grief and shame had been washed away by time and support from her new master who guided her through her last four years of training, she had decided to condemn herself to a less cruel punishment: she would never take a padawan. That way she would never fail anyone who trusted her wholeheartedly again.

And yet...when the time came she had been drawn to the young girl whom she had brought to the temple all those years ago.

"Come, my padawan. Let's get ourselves out of here."

"Yes, Master."

Maybe, just maybe, the Force was giving her a second chance to do things right.


End file.
